Main menu

God Bless Internet Thuggery

RIP Nia Wilson

*Sigh* Rest In Peace, Nia Wilson. I mean, I don’t know how else to start this post, son. On the real, the word “senseless” isn’t even strong enough to describe her murder, man. Like, there’s literally NO reason why that 18-year-old girl should be dead right now, fam. For God‘s sake, she had her entire life ahead of her, bruh! Instead, a family has to mourn her death after an inexplicable and unjustifiable killing.

Ok, at this point, I hope everyone has heard about Wilson’s story, son. Basically, this past Sunday night, Wilson was riding the BART train in Oakland with two of her sisters. Anyway, as they all stepped off of their train, John Lee Cowell came out of nowhere and attacked the women with a knife. In the wake of the incident, Wilson laid dead while her sister, Lahtifa, was also stabbed. In the blink of an eye, the Wilson family was irreparably damaged.

Now, before I continue, I must admit that I may piss some Black people off right now. In any case, based on all of the digging I’ve done so far, I truly don’t know if Wilson’s murder was racially-motivated. Look, nobody knows what was going through Cowell’s head. Shit, he could be the most racist of the racists, man. However, there’s also A TON of evidence to suggest that this dude was a menace WAY before he senselessly murdered Wilson.

To begin, Cowell has an EXTENSIVE criminal record. In 2009, he pleaded no contest to battery. In 2013, he pleaded no contest again to battery. In 2015, he pleaded no contest to being under the influence of an illegal substance. In 2016, he was charged with theft, drug possession and illegally having tear gas. Those charges were later dropped when he was arrested and convicted for second-degree robbery. For that particular crime, he ended up serving two years in prison. To top it off, his family claims that he was previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Look, I don’t want anybody to get my words misconstrued, fam. In no way, shape or form am I condoning what Cowell did to Wilson. Frankly, this dude should not have been allowed to roam the streets, bruh. Hell, how much of a violent history does a person need in order for them to be permanently separated from the rest of us? With that being said, I don’t want us to just jump to conclusions about race, son. Keeping it a buck, the circumstances are already dire enough for us.

Listen, it’s no secret that Black people are ALWAYS targeted in this country. Hell, I can’t even count how many times I’ve written about the consistent and abhorrent bigotry in America. All in all, I can’t rule out racism in this tragedy. But, in this case, I also think that mental health and our terrible criminal justice system played a big part in all of this. Real talk, someone or something needed to keep Cowell under wraps, man. He should’ve NEVER be in a position to carry out such a dastardly deed.

In the end, Wilson’s death is fucking tragic, fam. Ultimately, nothing I’ve said changes the fact that she didn’t deserve to die this way. By and by, NO ONE deserves to die this way, bruh. At the end of the day, my heart goes out to the Wilson family. All I can say is, I can’t even begin to imagine the pain they’re going through, brethren. That is all. LC out.